St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-03-14
MUSICAL RKlGHE ART.
ssPOrtamento di Voce,' and All That
il Implies.


NJ. L. Quinn, considered the ''portamento
di voce'' before the Musical association, at
it's last meeting. in GethSemane church
This is one of the greatest vehicles of emo
ton in the vocabulary of a singing artist
The voice must be well trained before the
portamento is undertaken. Only when one
has perfect control Of the diaphragm, i. e..
when they can preserve, increase and with
hold the breath, can they produce correct
portamento. Patti is the greatest of con-
stellation of stars planted by the Italian
method of singing. The portamento abso-
lutely requires thorough knowledge of
musical composition; i. e., one should com-
pose. The portamento, suspension and
syncopation are written exactly alike by
all composers. Each of them is played or
sung in its peculiar way; l. e., in all of
them two notes are connected by
curved line slur-two-quarters-
in the portamento the first note is accented,
and part of its time is used for anticipating
the following note which is not accented;
the suspension does not accent its first note.
but always accents its second note; the
syncopation always accents its first and
never accents its second note. Ali Of these
graces are written in precisely the same
manner by all musicians. Just as some
words in the English language are spelled
with the same letters in the same order.
But people who read English intelligently
recognize the function of word at sight.
and can therefore pronounce and emphasize
it correctly. Frequently we are amused
when hearing ignorant persons attempting
to use wOrds-they usually pronounce them
incorrectly or use them in a wrong function.
So it is with persons who are not able to
discriminate the various functions of a
masical tonality. They are as parrots
speaking language-they cannot think in
the language. One who thinks in English
can understand Shakespeare, and
can use all the words that he uses cor
rectly in their daily life or in a compost
ton Of their own. Their composition may
not contain any great thoughts. but their
| language must be correct. Such people
are able to recognize great thoughts; they
comprehend them and are made better by
| them. They are tiattered or pleased, or
| they are brought face to face with some
| great truth and are ennobled because they
can grasp the idea of a master mind. A
| powerful tone is not the great thing in
singing. The great thing is the ability to
execute the various functions of tonality
i'll a discriminating or artistic manner.
All teachers OF music that have produced
artistic or discriminating natures have
recognized this fact and have labored to cul-
tivate the Intellectual and moral, lie. esthetic
nature of their students. The Bernacchi
| school teachers that portamento is like two
pearls ON fine thread. Patti is a string of
pearls. Nature-taught singers think il az
tistic expression when they nnocently new
their notes up and down phrase with su-
perfuous breath escorted by some nasal or
palatal accessories. When one cOnceives
an idea they understand all its relations
He. alone, who can clearly think can clearly
express himself. Expression is the soul of
art. scientific knowledge; i. e.. in music,
knowledge that can be demonstrated by COM
posing or thinking is the body. Expression
is the ego of an artist; knowledge enables
an artist to grasp his own or any other ma